Let Them Grow
by Diary
Summary: Re-posted. The Wammy children have an ally in Roger. Complete.


Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

* * *

"We need chocolate milk," Mello insists, stubbornly.

Roger sighs as Matt pours some of the regular milk in Near's rice. "You have chocolate cereal, Mello," he points out, reasonably. At Mello's scowling look, he remembers Mello is one of those children who does not respond well to reason and thus, offers, "If you eat your cereal without complaining, I'll allow you to have a chocolate biscuit."

Long ago, he would have been appalled at resorting to bribery, but long ago, he had thought children like Mello only existed in the pieces of Victorian propaganda.

"Hey," Matt says, sharply, head snapping towards Roger.

"Insufficient," Near says, tugging Matt's pyjama sleeve.

"You may have one, too," Roger says.

"It requires more," Near says, tugging slightly harder on Matt's sleeve.

"Right," Matt says, losing interest in Mello's plight. He picks up the cartoon of milk and pours more milk into the bowl. Once he's done, he grabs Near's spoon and mixes the milk and rice. "D'ya want a biscuit, too, Near?"

"No," Near answers, reaching over to take the spoon.

"Roger, why aren't you eating," Linda inquires as she appears, blue paint smudged across her bangs.

"He doesn't want Mello to leave in this weather," Matt supplies, cutting his sausage up, while Mello, pouring the plain milk into his cereal, scowls.

Frowning, Linda says, looking down at her clothes, "It's below zero outside! Melanie is making me wear leggings and this jumper, even though it's ninety degrees in here."

"Well, you're still getting over that nasty flu," Matt points out. "Did you eat breakfast, Linda?"

"I had it in the art room," she answers. "Roger, would you like some coffee or tea with your toast?"

Touched, Roger says, "Linda, there's no need-"

"Yes, there is," she says, firmly. "I'm going to bring you some breakfast. Coffee or tea?"

"Some decaf coffee would be lovely, my dear," he answers, smiling affectionately as she nods, quite seriously, and then, skips off. For all the children like Mello, there are ones like Linda, who can be reasoned with but simply refuse to let reason get in the way of empathy.

"I want my biscuit, now," Mello announces.

"We'll have to wait until Linda comes back," Matt points out, pushing Near's orange juice closer to the younger boy. "Come on," he says as Near brings fingers up to his white hair. "It's either this or more vitamin C tablets."

"They irritate my tongue."

"That's why you need to drink the juice," Matt says.

"I'd rather have more water."

Matt shoots Roger a desperate look.

"Near, drink the orange juice," Roger orders.

Near complies. Sometimes, Roger is more concerned about him than he is about those such as Mello. Some children can be bribed, some can be reasoned with, and some simply comply with no complaint. Obedient children are one thing, but it's abnormal to find a child who never resists adult authority.

"Why does everyone care so much about little Nia getting sick," Mello demands. "It's not like we can't just stick his brain in a computer."

"Science hasn't progressed that far, Mello," Near says, causing Mello to shoot a death glare at him.

"I want to play outside," Mello insists as Linda reappears, a plate of toast, beans, an egg, and a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Thank you, Linda," Roger says, accepting the plate and cup. "Go and work on your art, now." He sits down and says, "Mello, there will be no going outside until the weather-"

"It's not even snowing," Mello protests. "When it snows, you let us go out, even though it's wet."

"It's usually only thirty degrees when it snows," Near points out, finishing his juice. "Right now, it's below zero. There's a significant-"

"No one asked you!"

Repressing the urge to bury his head in his hands and groan loudly, Roger offers, "Mello, if you stay inside today, you and Matt may have a small slice of chocolate cake for breakfast tomorrow."

"Each," Matt inquires, suspiciously.

The fact he has come to expect Matt to turn in nothing during English class yet still immediately spot any potentially hidden exploitation in his linguistic choices rather than marvel at it says some specific things about both his personality and his qualifications to manage this orphanage. Whether it says anything good about either is the true question, however. "Of course, Matt," he answers.

"Can we get some more chocolate milk?"

Matt smacks him on the back of the head. "Cake, Mello. Cake. It's not lemon, but it's still cake."

Right, Roger thinks, remembering that Matt, while a big fan of sweets, is not as obsessed with chocolate in particular as Mello is. "You may a slice of lemon," he informs Matt.

"What about the milk," Mello insists, staring at Roger, intentionally making his eyes bulge. It's a trick he learned from L; often suspects and witnesses find such tactics creepy enough that they automatically answer any questions without thinking or comply when given an order. Mello, however, tends to forget the fact Roger helped raise L and is more-or-less immune to such tactics.

"Yes, I'll have some more chocolate milk delivered."

"Delivery takes forever," Mello protests, cocking his head.

Roger sighs. Linda is a small, peaceful child who knows very well that her tears hold a special power. When she finds out he went out in below-freezing weather, she is going to cry, yell, and refuse to eat supper until Roger- well, she's not very consistent. Sometimes, a simple apology will do, and other times, it ranges from bribery to rocking her in his lap as he recites Hungarian poetry. She's getting a little too old and big for that, but if he has to put her on the shaky cot kept in the attic for emergencies and gently rock it while he recites, he will.

"Very well. I'll go get some from the store. I expect you to stay inside, however."

"Will Mello play Blitz with me?"

Mello opens his mouth to refuse, and Roger gets ready to try to comfort Near, a difficult task when Near never really gives much of an indication of how hurt he is. However, Mello surprises him by closing his mouth, looking at Matt, and then, sighing. "Why not? Matt's gonna do who knows what with that cat burglar, and since I'm not allowed outside," he says, pointedly, glaring at Roger. "You can help me identify translation errors in the King James version, if you want."

"Isn't the Hebrew version at the church," Near inquires, fingers twirling in his hair.

"Yeah, but I found a Greek version at that green pawn shop," Mello says. "We can use it. C'mon."

Mello leads them away, Near clutching a toy robot in his arms, with Matt keeping a hand on the back of the younger boy's head.

...

"Mello continues to excel; however, Near is clearly the superior one," L says, dripping honey onto his raisin biscuits.

Sighing, Roger says, "Mello still has time to prove himself. I'm asking you, as a personal favour, to wait another two or three years to announce your successor."

"You don't believe Mello will catch up any more than I know he won't," L answers, cocking his head.

Wammy's was created as a place to hide L; it continued as a place to hide his potential successors. Linda, Johan, all the others, none of them have ever been considered for L's position. Genius children have been chosen due to the potentials being geniuses, and aliases have been assigned in case the potentials get close to any of them; after all, it's much harder for criminal masterminds to hurt a person's loved ones if the loved ones are near invisible and untraceable.

Beyond Birthday, Near, Mello, and Matt are the only ones. BB is gone, Near continually tries to form a partnership with Mello, and Matt has never wanted to be in the running. If Near is chosen, now, Mello will be gone, and Near and Matt will be left vulnerable to who-knows what.

"I know you can't truly understand," Roger says, softly, "but he's twelve. Near is ten. They're brilliant, but all three of them are still very much children. I love you, L," he says, sincerely, "but I wish you had been given a chance at actual childhood. I can't help but fear that one day, your lack of- It will be your downfall, that's what I fear. Just as I fear that announcing Near as your heir now will damage three children who do have a chance at doing great things in the future."

"Very well," L says, finishing his biscuit. "You are, after all, in charge of childcare. I trust your judgement, even if I don't understand it."

"Thank you," Roger says, softly. "Tell Qullish I said hello."

"Naturally," L responds as the limo stops.

Grabbing the bag of chocolate milk and lemon cake, Roger gives L a sad smile. "Take care of yourself."

...

He checks on Linda, first. She's engrossed in a sketch she's doing of one of the explosives-sniffing dogs Matt is helping the local police train. There's a chance she'll never find out he was gone.

On his way to the kitchen, he looks in the rec. room. Matt is playing a video game, and Near and Mello are arguing over a translation. Near is calm and smiling faintly, a rare sight, and Mello is scowling, but there's a fire in his eyes, more determination than his usual defensive contempt.

Perhaps, Roger hopes, when they finish growing.


End file.
